Articles Posted inMediation

It is understandable that some spouses who are divorcing are not necessarily in the mindset to cooperate with one another. After all, fighting and disagreements have likely played a role in the decision to end their marriage. However, refusal to come to an agreement regarding one or more issues in a divorce can cause serious delays and can increase the cost of a divorce.

Before a court will grant your divorce, you and your spouse must settle numerous issues including:

Property and debt division;

Child support;

Time-sharing and visitation;

Parenting plans;

Alimony.

If any one of those issues cannot be settled out of court, the divorce can be delayed as the court will have to decide for you. You and your spouse will have to present evidence to support your arguments for how you want to resolve the issue at trial and the judge will rule on the matter.

A recent divorce case demonstrates just how much a divorce case can be affected by adversarial disputes instead of cooperation. After 25 years of marriage, the wife of the founder of Cancer Treatment Centers for America filed for divorce. The filing occurred in 2009 and the case is still dragging on due to several disagreements regarding a prenuptial agreement, custody, and division of their millions of dollars in assets. The case has involved numerous hearings, appellate hearings, changes of lawyers, contempt orders, and other complications, and is now finally going to trial over asset and property division. In the meantime, both spouses have likely spent an enormous amount of money, stress, and time dealing with the divorce proceedings and have been unable to remarry since their marriage is not yet dissolved after more than six years.Continue reading

Attempting to bring resolution to your divorce case through nonstop litigation is not always the best route to take

Divorce litigation can become expensive. There are other options available to bringing finality to your divorce.

The divorce procedure can take a heavy toll on an individual, both emotionally and financially. If reconciliation is not a viable option, you may attempt to resolve your case through the process of mediation. Mediation can be considerably less expensive for you, rather than litigation. Mediation involves the process of meeting with an impartial individual, usually a certified family court mediator, who is most often times a member of the Florida Bar.